The 2020 Armed Forces Day cross-band test from NSS did not take place in 2020, but in 2021 there were enough operators that had received the COVID-19 vaccine that it made a safe operating environment for the 2021 event. NSS contact totals per assigned frequency 4 MHz 1035 MHz 2477 MHz 2139 […]
Tag: cw
FOC BW QSO Party March 2021 – AD5XI
I very much enjoy these on-air events. They can vary from very laid back to a bit frenetic, where some operators are keen to maximise their QSO totals. I love the fact that I bump into people I have met and have become good friends with and exchange a few comments and greetings. Only 2 […]
ARRL DX CW – AD5XI
I’d not been very organised in the run-up to this contest, and as it’s a USA works the world I was always going to struggle from home with a low power entry. I don’t think a high power entry would have done any better. All told I spent 4 hours in the chair. Band conditions […]
FOC Marathon 2021 – AD5XI
This contest is the highlight of the year within FOC, and the only event in the calendar that is open only to club members. My strategy, however, is to work whomever calls and give a friendly report. It’s also a great opportunity to cross paths with friends and have a quick catch-up with them, while […]
Winter Field Day 2021 – AD5XI
Winter Field Day is a unique event, and not something we have in the UK. The rules are similar to the ARRL Field Day event in summer, but are in some respects quite different. Due to the ongoing (still) COVID-19 pandemic the organisers changed the rules to allow individual club members to participate and then […]
NAQP CW January 2021 – AD5XI
This was the first contest, and in fact my first QSOs, of 2021. I was tied up with some family matters so missed the first couple of hours, which meant most of the high band openings. Total time spent operating was around 4.5 hours, and focussed on the low bands. Usual station, Icom IC-7610 with […]
CQWW CW 2020 – AD5XI
So this contest just went badly for me. With the ongoing COVID-19 situation I decided to enter from home, knowing that it would be a struggle with my very modest station. In both 2018 and 2019 I operated from big stations in Maryland and it was a great contest, but this time even though the […]
ARRL November Sweepstakes CW – AD5XI
After two years living in Maryland this was actually my first Sweepstakes, and could well be my only chance! I was pleased to be able to join a PVRC online session in the week leading up to the contest, otherwise I’d have been stumped as to how to work N1MM logger and manage the exchange. […]
FOC BW QSO Party September 2020 – AD5XI
I only managed to spend a few hours QRV this time around. My IC-7610 and indoor dipoles with 100W netted me 162 QSOs in total. Pretty even spread across 80/40/20M. I heard relatively few EU stations and worked even fewer of them. However, I had some excellent short catch-up QSOs with friends across NA and […]
CW Open 2020 – AD5XI
I have never before taken part in the CW Ops CW Open contests. It’s an interesting format, 3x 4-hour sessions. They are clearly designed around the East Coast of the USA for times that suit my operating and sleeping patterns. The first session on Friday 4th September was 2000-2359 EDT, which meant only staying up […]